Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-08-04
How to Raise Maximum Crop of Potatoes

How to Raise a Maximum Crop Of Potatoes.
Thomas Barrett in Rural New Yorker.
IN preparing ground for potatoes, if
manfred in the fall, then is the best time
to pillow, as the manure becomes thorough
~ incorporated with the soil, and will be
more or less rotted by spring. Spring
plewlng will do, but if the manure is not
rotted, it will not produce as good results
as fall blowing. I find nothing IN the
way of fertilizers equal to barnyard man
ure; if well rotted, all the better. Let it
be spread on liberally-say fifty to seven
ty-fve two horse loads per acre. Wood
ashes are also good. A tables poonful of
unleached ashes spread over each hill, S
the stalks come through or just before,
will be of great benefit killing or driving
of worms, and greatly promoting growth.
The drills should be feet apart with
stronggrowing varieties-315 feet are
still better. Make the drills inches
deep. Cut the seed to two eyes, and
plant 16 inches apart. If planted uni
formly as by | ne. at Is inches apart,
they can be cross-worked with hand cul-
tivator, while the tops are small. This
would be of great advantage to the crop,
destroying the weeds and mellowing the
soil.
Medium sized potatoes cut up in two,
lengthwise, and the halves split length
wise, produce good results. We thus get
in each seed-piece, seed end, stem END and
middle. If cut to one eye, plant the
pieces one foot apart.
Flat cultivation is to be preferred un-
less, after abundant rains, the weeds come
up thickly, when it would be better to hill
SntfIcIantlu tO the yupp6G rnthnr fh n
let them appropriate the nu5riment due
the potatoes, Or, by overcrowding, rob
them of sun and air. My practice is to
commence hoeing as SOON as the sprouts
come to the surface. [ make it point
to clean them thoroughly once, taking
every weed that can be seen, and where
the hoe can not reach them without cut
ting the potato tops, to pull them out
with the fingers. This gives the potatoes
fair chance to grow, and they get SO
much ahead of the weeds that spring up
later as to almost smother them. Keep
the cultivator going until they have all
been worked three or four times. For
the later workings shallow cultivation is
the best to prevent cutting the tubers and
roots.
Another point of great Importance is
grow in the hill. Sometimes there will
be from six to twelve, and even more,
starting on each hill. If all are permit
ted to remain, only small potatoes will
be found in such hill. 1t is good rule
to thin them to two or three stems in a
hill, leaving the strongest. For destroy
ing the bugs [ have found nothing equal
to one part of paris green and fifty parts
of plaster, thoroughly mixed, and sifted
over the plants. This is death to the
beetles, and will not ipiure the plants. If
applied when the latter are wet with dew
or after light sho yer, it is less liable to
be blown off and wasted. A fruit can
with holes punched in the bottom, makes
a good sitter. If e few pieces were rolled
IN the above poisonous mixture and scat
tered about before the potatoes come up,
1t would kill off most, If not all. of the
old bugs, and be great saving Of after
labor.